DESCENDANTS OF THE BLACK MOON

Chapter 4

June 10, 1984.

It was a dark day. The sky was void of stars and looked gloomy. The cries of owls and bats as they pierced from one tree to another filled the air.

Yes! I repeat, it was a dark day.

Not only was it a dark day, but thunderstorms had also been raging in Nazirite for over an hour.

The day seemed like an extension of a terrible nightmare into wakefulness because, today was one weird day they couldn't decipher.

They could remember distinctly; waking up to a very bright day. The sky was as bright as every normal day. But, what they could no longer understand was, 'why exactly did the day suddenly turn dark?!' Not only was this question running through their minds, they had other questions that no one had an answer to.

"Where exactly did these bats and owls come from?" A soldier asked no one in particular with his gaze fixed at the bats and owls piercing from one tree to another through the window.

Yes! They knew perfectly that today was going to be a dangerous and unexplainable day. A day which the people of Nazirite have been anticipating for, since a thousand years ago.

Everyone in Nazirite had woken up so early, all dressed in body armor and steel helmets, including the king. And according to the king's instructions, the people of Nazirite have matched down to the large hall in the king's palace; awaiting the presence of those monsters.

Yes! It has gotten to the day which they have been training so hard for.

It's quite funny how days fly. From years to months: from months to weeks and from weeks to days, and finally, it has gotten to the day.

To be sincere, this is not exactly what they expected.

Again, they knew today was going to be a horrible day, but the last thing they had in mind was the day turning dark!

Lightning flashed around them and thunder rumbled, followed by a blast of wind that smacked their hair across their faces.

Sweats trickled down their backs as their hearts sped up: this is extraordinary!

What they had no clue about, was if it was about to rain or whether the dark day was to usher in the presence of The Descendants Of The Black Moon.

On a second thought, about to rain?!

No, it's been dark for hours. If truly, it was about to rain; considering the unusual weather and thunderstorms, it ought to have been raining a long time ago.

Then, this brings us to the conclusion that the second option stands to be the answer.

Presumptively; they were monsters from hell, which means, darkness would usher in their presence.

The thought of this had made their hearts race even more as they held firmly to their swords, arrows, catapults, or axe in anticipation of their presence.

To top it all, their greatest fear was, 'where exactly would these monsters descend from?'

The sky?

Mid-air?

Behind them?

The ground?!

Is it possible to descend from the ground?

But, one thing they knew was, they had to be physically and mentally alert!

Holding more firmly the lantern in their right hands, which happened to be their only means of light. They walked deeper into the king's palace.

The King and his daughter stood in front, while some groups of soldiers stood behind them. The kids and pregnant women stood in the middle while some sets of soldiers stood behind them.

At least, the monsters will have to pass through the soldiers before they get to them.

Hold on, why were they going deep into the palace? This is total confusion cause, they had absolutely no idea.

The dark day has thrown them, including the king and his daughter into disarray.

Owls and bats flocks into the palaces' window as they flap their wings aggressively on it. Thank goodness the palace window was locked!

Well, that seems to be the last thing on their minds right now.

They could remember, not only did they wake up to a bright day, they woke up being energetic. Everyone held their fighting tools as they matched to the palace.

But immediately the days started turning dark, the confusion had drained out their zeal and strength to fight.

They were about to get past the king's palace but something caught their attention that they had to stop walking.

At first, it came to them as a flash or more like, they caught of glimpse of it, but, when they drew closer and closer, they noticed that thick dark smoke was coming out from the king's throne. Before they could process what exactly was going on, slowly, the smoke gathered together above the king's throne.

"What the..." Was the only word that could fall off the king's mouth as he fixed his eyes trying to look through the dark smoke.

Was his throne on fire? There is no fire, then, what could have caused the thick dark smoke?

Again, the thick dark smoke gathered together, this time, it formed a rounded figure in the shape of a ball. Speedily without any notice, it started moving in their direction.

At that moment, the only word that rang in their heads was, "RUN!" And yes, RUN, they did!

Heads slamming on each other: feet storming on what they couldn't see, chattering sounds including the sounds of running feet filled the air as the people tried to make their way out of the palace with the help of the little lights reflecting from their lanterns.

They haven't been this confused in their entire lives. What exactly was this thick black smoke chasing after them? The Descendants Of The Black Moon?

Is this what they have been training all these years for? Okay, what are they supposed to do now? Fight with it?

This is not what they have been expecting. Their forefathers called them "monsters," right? Yes! They were supposed to fight with monsters and not some thick black smoke chasing after them non-stop.

Nevertheless, they kept on running even in the confusion they were.

With the same speed they ran, the same speed the thick rounded smoke chased after them.

Where exactly were they running to? Where are they? To top it all, the dark day wouldn't let them see where they were headed, as the little lights reflecting through the lantern weren't even close to helpful, but one thing they were sure of was that they were no longer in the palace.

Probably, they were outside of the palace or somewhere... unknown.

Behind them, they could hear the sound of an object; they guess, slamming hard on something they couldn't tell, followed by a loud and ear-deafening thud of an explosion and things littering about filled the air.

What the hell just happened? Well, they would think about that later. Their safety is more... important.

They kept on running breathlessly until they turned their backs and noticed the thick dark smoke was longer chasing after them.

Where exactly had it gone to? Were they supposed to be glad that it has stopped chasing after them, or afraid that they couldn't find it?

After using their eyes to scan their environment through the dim light and has confirmed that, the thick dark smoke was no longer chasing after them, the king told them to take a quick nap, after which, they head back to the palace.

They sat down tiredly on the ground as they tried to chase their breath.

Now, looking at their surrounding through the dim light, they discovered that, they were in a forest more like a jungle. They couldn't tell if where they were seated was safe or not, but they needed res...

"Stephen? Stephen? Stephen?! I can't find my son!" Cried an old woman moving from one direction to another, using the dim light to search for her son.

The people diverted their lazy eyes to the old lady still sitting down tiredly on the ground, not until the words fully registered in their brain that, a member is missing, not only a member, the old lady's son was one of the soldiers in the group.

They sprang to their feet as they became even more alert.

"You mean, you can't find Stephen?!" Asked the king in astonishment as the old lady shook her head rapidly and continuously.

The king immediately turned to the soldiers as he said in an authoritative tone, "Search for him!"

Even without a response, the soldiers hurriedly ran deeper into the jungle in search of him, coming back minutes later with the report that they couldn't find him.

The king stood thoughtfully, trying to make out why exactly did the soldier suddenly went missing.

After much thoughts, Kath turned to her dad and asked, "Dad? Don't you think the explosion has something to do with Stephen's disappearance?"

"But how?!"

Now, the question running through everyone's mind was: what is the reason behind the explosion?!

And...

Why did the thick dark smoke and Stephen suddenly vanished?!